


They Said That Hell's Not Hot

by myaekingheart



Series: The Scarecrow and the Bell [11]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Anbu Hatake Kakashi, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Porn With Plot, Sharing Body Heat, Smut, Smut Monday 2021, Snowed In, also tw for a brief allusion to self harm, and there was only one bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:35:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28987914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myaekingheart/pseuds/myaekingheart
Summary: Naruto Smut Monday 2021, January.Prompt: Snowed In/Body HeatIn which reluctant comrades Kakashi Hatake and Rei Natsuki are forced to confront their shared past and their secret feelings while snowed in on a mission.Song: They Said That Hell's Not Hot by Marilyn Manson, Violet Orlandi coverhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THm9zeXAxoA
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Natsuki Rei, Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Scarecrow and the Bell [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1913203
Kudos: 8
Collections: Naruto Smut Monday 2021





	They Said That Hell's Not Hot

Rei squinted through the haze, digging her nails into her palms. She felt nothing. The north was particularly unyielding this time of year but right now, on the cusp of a blizzard, it was unbearable. “Maybe we should stop” Rei muttered, adjusting the mask on her face.

Kakashi glanced back at her, eyes cold, dark, distant. They had a mission. They had a responsibility. They were ANBU. They were not supposed to stop. They were not _allowed_ to stop. Selfless machines, their duty was to kill and arrest. Human sympathy was not a luxury they could afford for themselves. Besides, procrastinating only afforded more time for the rogue ninja to advance well beyond their scope. The intel he was carrying could not get into the hands of enemy territory. Rei knew this. Kakashi knew this. And yet that meant nothing to the chill in her bones, the blue tinge of her fingernails, the numbness overtaking her. She needed reprieve.

“Alright” Kakashi finally said, breaking the silence. “There should be an inn coming up soon. We can rest there for the night.”

He remained stoic and silent as they traversed the wilds. Fists clenched at his sides, he regretted ever agreeing to this. To not only staying at the inn but to accompanying her on a mission in the first place. He needed to keep moving, to keep flitting from one emotionless thought to another. Idle minds made for dangerous fantasies. When it came to Rei, there were plenty. He shoved them all back down his throat and further pretended that they did not exist.

The innkeeper was a frail, unsuspecting woman who welcomed them inside graciously. Kakashi and Rei had since removed their masks, their ANBU uniforms hidden by nondescript black cloaks, so they appeared more like typical weary travelers than assassins. The innkeeper looked them up and down scandalously, made a presumptuous remark about them being honeymooners. Rei’s stomach clenched and for a moment, she thought she was going to be sick. When the woman handed over the room key, she urged the couple to make themselves at home.

If only the woman had been right in her assumption. No, Kakashi and Rei were far from a couple. Whatever they were to each other had no name, no distinction. They merely existed within the same plane, not quite strangers but not quite friends. The electricity of their past reverberated between them, however, like a flash of lightning. Quick, incomprehensible, fleeting. They never bothered to identify the meaning. Rather, they seemed to sharply dance around the subject, avoiding the particulars in skillful close calls. A ballet of paranoid pirouettes and conclusive leaps. Hands grazing but never intertwining. Only glances, never stares.

Their room was modest, small. The fireplace in the corner begged for kindling. Rolled tightly on the floor was one single futon. Kakashi immediately stalked to the closet, hoping to find an extra, but to no avail: it was completely empty.

“I can sleep on the floor” he muttered. He refused to meet her gaze. “It’s fine.”

“O-okay…” Rei murmured. She threw some wood haphazardly into the fireplace, struck a match and watched the whole thing ignite. The warmth blossomed against her cheeks, a comforting caress. She immediately dropped to her knees and snuggled up as close to the flames as she could without getting burnt.

Kakashi kicked off his shoes and flung his cloak and scarf onto the floor. He began unrolling the futon, his back to Rei. Anything to forget that she was there. Her presence pulsed in the back of his mind like a heartbeat—unavoidable, pounding, necessary. Silencing her meant silencing himself. He cursed himself as that noose of red thread tightened around his neck. He was careless and distracted as he laid the mattress out, settling the sheets unevenly and not even bothering to smooth out the duvet. It was good enough; he didn’t need to bend over backwards for her. If he let his mind linger on the nagging desperation to perfect it, he would surely meet his demise. No, it was sufficient.

Pursing his lips, Kakashi sank down and fished around for the book in his back pouch. He knew he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the words anyway but just holding something in his hands, averting his line of sight, was enough. His grasp kept evading the book, however, and a panic rose into his throat. Amid the chaos, his eyes landed on her and that was the end of it. He was stuck. Trapped. Mesmerized.

Rei shivered and drew her knees up to her chest. She had unclasped her cloak but kept it wrapped around her shoulders still like a blanket. In this moment, she seemed so small, so vulnerable. Nothing like the fierce kunoichi into whom she had evolved. No, in this moment, she had somehow reverted back to that small, needy child from the house next door. The little girl who would swing her legs back and forth on the porch and dutifully wait for Kakashi to get home each day. Someone who needed to be protected. _Someone precious_.

“You know, you’re allowed to come join me if you want” Rei said bluntly, sourly. As if her offer was out of obligation rather than hospitality. The sharpness of her tone struck Kakashi, the contrast of her apathy against the background of their past. How deeply had his ignorance hurt her? How long had she festered the wounds he had inflicted? He shoved those thoughts of his head. Painful memories were not going to keep him warm.

Kakashi hesitated a moment before sighing and ultimately giving in. He scooted nearer but still kept quite a distance between the two of them. His heart ached, his body begging for her. He refused himself the satisfaction. Things were different now. And yet something so simple as sharing warmth was enough for his walls to begin to crack. He swallowed back his fear and stood firm on his decision. He could not let her get close. He could not stand to hurt her yet again.

A long stretch of silence passed. Rei licked her lips, cursed under her breath. The fire wasn’t doing enough. Violent shivers still racked her body. Kakashi fought to keep his eyes locked on the flames, forced himself to think of anything but her. Forced himself to think of _the other woman_. The woman he had been paying for the past few years, his source of mindless stress relief. He forced himself to focus on the vision of her shabby apartment, her straw-blonde hair and soulless eyes and mind-numbing body. The way that little gold necklace hung around her neck, the loop of her name in the metal, the way it swayed against her collarbone when she shifted on top of him. Everything about her was pink and plastic. She was fake, interchangeable, replaceable. When Kakashi was with her, he felt nothing. It was nice. But she knew. Deep down, she had to know. This woman was nothing to him. When Kakashi met with her, his mind was elsewhere. His mind was on the woman sitting before him right now, small and shivering. On _Rei._ He couldn’t resist turning his gaze to her any longer. He studied her hunched figure, the curves of her body. The way her hair fell into her face, unruly and coarse like autumn leaves. Her round, chubby cheeks flushed red from the cold. Hard, mossy eyes. That scar straight across the bridge of her nose. Chapped lips and crooked teeth and tense muscles. Something in the pit of his stomach clenched, bloomed, yearned.

“You really are cold, aren’t you?” he murmured.

Rei nodded. “Freezing.”

Against his better judgment, Kakashi scooted nearer. He closed the distance. Rei’s heart leapt into her throat. They hadn’t been this close since they were kids. Kakashi hesitated a moment and then took her hands in his. They were so big, so strong, _so warm_. He softly rubbed her hands between his own calloused palms. Against Rei’s better judgment, she let him.

“They’re like ice” Kakashi whispered.

“I told you I was cold” Rei croaked in reply. She watched him with fierce intent, searching for a hint of an ulterior motive. There was no way he could be doing this out of pure kindness. That was not the Kakashi she knew anymore. The Kakashi of her childhood was dead. Kakashi, who would hug her tightly, who would romp and race alongside her in the yard, who would splash her in the lake on balmy summer afternoons. He died a long time ago. It all seemed so far away.

No, that was not the Kakashi that existed now. This Kakashi was a parasite, a heartless being encumbered in the husk of the man she once knew. This Kakashi was a man of calculation, isolation, and regret. A legend. A captain. A _killer_. Yet sitting beside him now, firelight illuminating his sunken face, she saw a glimpse of the old him. The warm, sweet boy she had grown to love, like a tiny beam of light breaking past that crumbling, cold façade. She refused to let herself enjoy this one fleeting moment. She could not let herself get attached to a man who longer existed. She had already suffered enough.

Kakashi’s fingers mingled with the idea of interlocking with Rei’s, toying with her fingertips, caressing her knuckles, pressing into her palm. From deep within the pit of Rei’s chest rose a sudden, terrifying desire. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Instead, they tangled in her throat like bile, constricting. “K-Kakashi…” she finally managed to choke out. When he locked eyes with her, there was something different in him. Something warm, hungry, strange. She shivered, but not from the cold. “Can…can you do me a favor…?”

“What?” he asked. His voice was so low, she almost feared her question was a burden. Her body trembled.

“Can I…” she started, voice unsteady. “Can I please…see your face?”

It had been so long since she saw him— _really_ saw him. He removed his mask for no one—not even the woman he paid—but with her, things were different. He was calmer, more comfortable, even after all these years. In their youth, they had shared a bond like no other. She wondered if he would honor that now. She doubted he would.

Kakashi loosened his grip on her hands, leaned back in uncertainty. She was asking the impossible. He refused. Revealing himself to her was a death sentence. That mask was the glue that held all of his broken pieces together, the mismatched façade. He was already losing his grip. But perhaps it was the quiet of the snow, the deafening haze like a dream—not quite real—and the intimacy of it all that changed his mind. Kakashi sucked in a deep breath. Then, drawing a hand up to his face, he slowly tugged down the mask.

His face was much sharper than Rei remembered. His nose was longer, thinner, and his jawline harsher. His mouth, however, had remained the same. Rei chewed her lower lip as she fought the sudden urge to kiss him. And then her heart burst inside her chest. She watched, paralyzed, as he drew her hand up to his lips, grazing her bruised knuckles.

“You’ve been training hard” he whispered. “I know why.” He turned her hand over, massaged her palm, kissed her inner wrist. Memories of the day he broke her heart pounded in his head like a migraine. He could still hear her screams, see the way she fell to her knees in the dirt insisting that she would be successful. That she did not need his support. That she did not need _him_. “You really proved me wrong” he murmured, a soft smile teasing on his lips. She felt them twitch as they grazed her palm, planted a tender kiss on every individual fingertip. And then, voice gravelly and low, he added, “I’m proud of you.”

“K-Kakashi…” Rei whimpered. This was all too much. She wanted to pull away but she couldn’t bring herself to. Instead, she found herself leaning in even closer. Kakashi ran his hand up her forearm, his touch electrifying, digging his nails into her skin as he pulled her even closer.

“You’re so cold…” he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear. He massaged the base of her neck, ran his hand down her spine, idled on the small of her back. “Let me warm you up.”

“K-Kakashi…please…” Rei whispered. “I can’t…” she started, but couldn’t find the strength to finish her sentence. _I can’t afford to let you hurt me again._

Kakashi paused. A sudden terror overtook his body, the fear that he was taking things too far. That she didn’t actually want this. He had gotten too ahead of himself. He had projected his own selfish desires onto her, unsuspecting and soft. He cursed himself for letting his inhibitions falter. He never should’ve let her presence weaken him. “I’m sorry” he whispered back, releasing her. She did not move away. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

Rei’s heart pounded in her chest. The thought of him abandoning her like this suddenly hurt far more than him touching and loving her. She had hungered for him for far too long. Fuck her feelings, she was willing to let herself get hurt again if it meant one night in his arms. “N-No!” she croaked frantically. He locked eyes with her curiously. She forced the words out of her mouth in terrified desperation. “Please, just…” she started. She clutched her hands to her chest, rising and falling tumultuously. For a moment, he was convinced she was going to cry.

_Oh no_ , he thought to himself. _What have I done?_ He clenched his fists at his sides, tried to maintain composure. His thoughts were like an avalanche and he was powerless to stop them. “’Please’ what?” he murmured, almost too scared to know.

“Please…hold me” she croaked. “I-I want you…Kakashi. I… _need_ you.”

And there it was: the confession. Kakashi sucked in a sharp breath, tried to make sense of it all. And then there was a lightness, a relief. He chuckled softly and shook his head in disbelief. “Okay…” he whispered. He scooted even closer, pulling her roughly into his lap. Rei settled into him immediately, wrapping her arms around his toned waist and burying her face into his chest. He smelled like home, like days long since passed. A tiny piece of nostalgia, a tiny piece of her heart lost to time and space. Kakashi raked his fingers through her tangled hair, loosening her ponytail in the process. She sighed softly and he could no longer help himself. He gently tugged at her hair, tilting her head back, and pressed his lips hard against hers, starving for her.

Her heart jolted as she released a soft, clipped whimper of shock. His lips were so soft, so firm, so demanding, Kakashi cupped her cheek as he pressed into her and her body ignited. Her hands searched for him, gripped at him desperately, digging her nails into his shoulder and tangling her fingers in his hair. He pressed her close to his chest as they fell back onto the floor. She could feel him growing hard against her thigh, his hips subtly grinding against her. The fire crackled in the background. Outside, the snow was heavy and unforgiving.

“Tell me what you want” Kakashi whispered. He clutched at her hips, pressing his thumbs into the dip of her hipbones. “Anything and I’ll give it to you.”

Rei had no idea what had come over him but she was not going to argue. How could she when this was what she had prayed for all along? Ever since she first saw him in the hokage’s office, the very first morning they were reunited. She could feel that magnetic pull in her chest begging for him, her hands itching to touch him and hold him and confirm that he was real. And now here he was, looming over her ready to serve her. None of it felt real. But his touch, his hunger, the beat of his breath against her throat—that was all unmistakably real.

“Kakashi, I want…” Rei started, and she wasn’t sure she had the strength to say it. It felt so surreal, almost like a prank. Like he was setting her up to admit her deepest desires only to laugh at her and criminalize her for ever wanting him in the first place. She prepared herself for the rejection—she had spent her whole life fighting the current of it anyway—and finally vocalized her request. “I want you to love me.”

Kakashi shook his head and her heart sank. “Too late” he whispered. He slid his hand from her cheek to her jaw, propping her mouth open ever so slightly with a tender thumb. “I already do.”

“Y-you do…?” Rei gasped. Now she knew she must be dreaming. There was no possible way.

“I always have” Kakashi confessed. A small smile tugged at his lips from the absolute relief of it all. He had been holding in so much for so long but no matter what, he had never stopped thinking about her. Worrying about her. Caring about her. _Loving her_. He supposed that was one promise he could never truly break.

A strange, overwhelming happiness bubbled up from deep within Rei’s chest. This was completely unbelievable. In that disbelief, however, came a certain confidence. After all, if none of this was, in fact, real, then she had nothing to lose. She had no reason to hold back. She swirled her tongue around the tip of Kakashi’s thumb, kissed his fingertip, and whispered, “Then prove it.”

Kakashi did as he was told. He slid his hand down to gently clutch her throat, using his thumb to tilt her jaw upwards so that he could kiss her, deep and hard. Their tongues mingled as he pressed his hips against hers, his erection growing harder. She squirmed in anticipation, grabbing the waist of his pants and harshly tugging downwards. She idled a moment on his newly-exposed dick, surveying the length and form, the anxious veins and desperate tip. Kakashi smirked softly as he unfastened her ANBU vest with a quick snap of the clasps at her chest. Rei promptly propped herself up on her elbows so that he could slide it off, tossing it across the room with the rest of their clothes. Newly liberated, he was free to slide her shirt up over her chest and let his hands roam. Rei shivered as he caressed her hips, traced the imprint of her ribs, studied the curvature of her breasts with a wandering index finger. His thumb caressed her nipple, growing hard with arousal.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

Rei bit her lip as she locked eyes with him. “Not anymore” she whispered back.

“Good” Kakashi replied, voice low and hungry. He brushed her long bangs back as he idled on her face for a moment. In his eyes was a certain softness, a tender adoration. He never could’ve imagined how incredible it felt to finally let himself love her, to stop restraining himself and just fall fully into his relentless yearning. He slid his shirt up over his head before tugging Rei back onto the plush futon. Looming over her, he pulled her pants down with a sharp smile and threw them to the wayside. And then suddenly, she was fully naked before him, and he before her.

Rei studied the contours of Kakashi’s abs, the scars streaking his chest. Visible proof of his trials and tribulations, of his hard work over the years. And on her thighs and forearms Kakashi caught sight of the hazards of a very different struggle. His heart broke at the sight of them and he wondered if they were his fault. “I’m so sorry” he whispered. He leaned down and caressed each mark, trailing his lips along each scar on her thick thighs.

“It’s not your fault” she whispered, running a hand through his hair. “There’s a lot we still need to catch up on.”

“I should’ve been there for you” he whispered. “I should’ve never left your side.”

“It only ended up making me stronger” Rei replied. Her fingers grazed his hipbone, teased him. “But let’s not think about that right now” she added. She wrapped her hand around his dick, gently stroking the shaft and circling the tip with her thumb. “All that matters is right now.”

Kakashi moaned softly, his hips instinctually shifting closer to her entrance. “I don’t want to ever leave you again” he whispered. He never imagined her touch could feel so worthwhile, so gentle and invigorating. The tip of his dick brushed against her—now he was the one teasing her—and when she gasped, he felt powerful, overjoyed. Like this was exactly where he was meant to be. Like nothing could be better than this, being with her. He tangled his fingers in her hair, buried his face in her neck. “I’m just angry I didn’t let myself love you sooner.”

“It’s okay” Rei chuckled softly. “You’re always late to everything anyway.”

Kakashi shook his head, pressed his lips against hers yet again. Never again was he going to abandon her. Never again was he going to be inattentive and late. From this moment onward, he made a vow to himself. He was entirely dedicated to her and her only. He was willing to put his life on the line for her, to spend the rest of his life with her. He _needed_ to spend the rest of his life with her. He couldn’t imagine suffering through one more day without her by his side. He had already suffered enough.

Rei groaned, her back arching, as Kakashi dug his nails into her hips and eased his way inside of her. “Do you feel alright?” he asked. He didn’t want to hurt her. He still needed to learn her, to familiarize himself with her body. Rei chewed her bottom lip and nodded, tugging at his hips so as to shove him even deeper inside of her. He held her close as he began thrusting, first slow and steady but soon growing faster and faster. He locked his arm beneath her knee, raising her leg up to better please her. A soft moan escaped her lips and she jerked his chin up toward her, forcing him to look her in the eyes. Sweat beaded on her brow as she panted and whined but she never took her eyes off of him the entire time. She wanted to see his face, to study his expressions, to remind herself that this was real as he dug deeper and deeper inside of her.

And god, did watching her make it feel all the more real for Kakashi, too. He loved every imperfect inch of her, every atom and cell and square inch of flesh. He tilted her head back and leaned down to nibble at her neck, leaving bruised little patches along the sensitive skin. Each bite sent a shiver down her spine, pushing her closer and closer to the edge. And then he did it, the last straw. He reached his opposite hand down between her legs, feeling around before landing on her clit. She gasped and gripped at his hair, squeezing her eyes shut tight as he began to massage that sensitive little spot. The pleasure was almost unbearable.

“K-Kakashi…!” she cried, her muscles tightening around him.

“There you are” he murmured breathlessly, smirking against her neck. “Just a little bit more…”

She squirmed and swerved her hips against him as her body electrified, radiating around him. In that moment, she was the sun and he had no idea what made him so worthy of being in her light. He slid his hand under her neck and held her close as he thrust harder and faster than ever before, gasping for breath, hungry, desperate. He couldn’t restrain himself any longer. A choked, animalistic groan broke past his lips as his dick pulsed inside of her. Rei shivered as she held him tightly, crying in pleasure against his shoulder. Her mind was reeling, her hands felt numb, her lungs ached for air.

Kakashi gasped for breath against her ear as he fought to compose himself, gently loosening his hold on her as he slid out and collapsed beside her. He rubbed his tired eyes, sighed, cursed under his breath. Rei froze, suddenly terrified that he regretted fucking her. She hesitated a moment, uncertain and scared, before slowly turning to look at him. Kakashi immediately reached out to caress her cheek, pressed his lips hard against hers, and that was all the answer she needed.

“God, I love you” he sighed. “I love you so much.”

“Kakashi…” she whispered and now her vision was blurring with the crushing realization of his undying love. To think, all this time he had repressed these deep, overwhelming feelings. Smashed them up into a neat little cube and shoved them into the back of his mind. He seemed looser now, happier, carefree. _Relieved_. She pressed her hand to his damp cheek and smiled softly, sentimentally. “Kakashi, I love you, too” she whispered. “I always have. And I always will.”

A small, almost boyish laugh bubbled up from deep within Kakashi’s chest. He never knew how badly he needed to hear those simple little words from her, too, until now. He hugged her tight against his chest, raked his fingers through her hair, kissed her forehead. “I’m never letting you go ever again” he promised. “I will love you always.”

Rei snuggled close against him, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lulling her to sleep. She could sense the ingenuity in his tone, the vast universe of adoration radiating from his lips, his fingertips, his chest. A moment of pure perfection.

From the solace of the lobby, the little innkeeper poured herself another cup of tea. She shook her head and smiled knowingly as she brought the cup up to her lips. “I knew they were honeymooners” she chuckled to herself and went about the rest of her night.


End file.
